CX 840 cracking wheat

[gv]

Hi All

Have a CX840 with a 36' HB, in bearded easy thresh wheat around the 3t/ha.
Straw was tough today, leaving the back bone on the stem.
Sample has cracked wheat as well as white heads (caps)
Drum 700-800
Concave 10-15 every second wire removed
Top Sieve 12mm
Bottom Sieve 8mm
Fan 750
Next to nothing out the back

Not sure if its cracking in the drum or elsewhere.
Any thoughts?

[rod]

Nothing new with what you are encountering. I have a CX8080 - same thing just wider - that had the same problems. I tried everything but never achieved the machines capability with the standard concave etc.
I installed a Loewen concave - make absolutely sure it is level when installed. I have it zeroed off at 8mm. I installed 2 filler plates in the first 2 cross sections of the concave.
Rotary separator concave - I've made a louvre setup that you can close off the last 5 rows of the concave for when conditions get dry & brittle. This reduces the amount of chaff/straw that will fall through & overload the sieves. Run rotary sep. in high speed but open the rotary sep. concave to about half open. You need to move the "stops" where the handle locks into to achieve this. Two 17mm spanners from memory. Fit risers to the last three steps in the walkers.
Concave 13-15mm - add the zero gap = 21-23mm. Drum 720-750rpm.
Pre -cleaner 6mm. Top sieve 13mm. Bottom 9mm. Fan 850 +/-10
You may need to increase drum speed a little if you are close to the coast however, these machines have plenty of thrashing capability.
Your cracked grain should be greatly improved if not nearly eliminated. All machines crack some grain - even rotaries.

[gv]

Thanks rod
Would a harvestaire concave give similar results?
I realise all machines crack but the cx seems rather bad for it with factory setup.

[ozpete]

I only had minimal issues with cracking wheat with our CX, sorghum however was a different beast. Was a never a season when i was happy with the level of cracking in sorghum. You are allowed 11% screenings in SOR1 grade, we were often up around 9-10% (sometimes more) with probably 2% small grain and the rest cracked. Didn't matter what i tried, couldn't get a satisfactory result. Traded for a CR this year, so hoping this coming sorghum harvest will be the first time i don't tear my hair out with this problem.

[gv]

Same issue.
Turns good wheat to ****.
If the wheat is going feed anyway won't be an issue, but if we get some falling numbers go our way it would be nice to have it make milling grade.

[rod]

goldenvale- I can't see why a Harvestaire concave would not work. The original NH "small wire concave" has 3.6mm wires set at (from memory) 8mm deep & no matter what I did - half wires in, all wires in, half of rear wires cut off a row 12, de-awning cover up/down - nothing was really acceptable.
Harvestaire - whoever makes them - is 6mm wires set at 10mm deep.
NH actually has a similar concave available but for some illogical reason, don't install them for Aus. conditions. Don't even tell people that they are available. Same goes for the CR's. There is a "universal concave" that is exactly as the name suggests - universal. It is much better than the standard small wire that people run with half the wires out.

[philonthefarm]

i know it aint wheat , but we had a hard time not cracking barley all last year , we were advised to use the de awning plates on the returns , this year we were getting the same results , tried everything again , then swapped the plates , different again , all but eliminated the cracks ,

[cowboy925]

De-awning plates on the returns?

[philonthefarm]

the spiked covers on the bottom of the cross augers , machine supplied with smooth and toothed

[philonthefarm]

laso the tension on the clean grain chain made a big difference